Stand Up To Cancer

Mark Herzlich
Herzlich, an All-American linebacker from Boston College, spent last year undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for Ewing sarcoma. Now, as he prepares to return to the field in BC's opening game this September, he shares his story at fundraisers for the disease, which usually impacts children ages 10-20. "It is an ordeal for anyone to have cancer," he says. "Food tastes terrible, you get weak and skinny. You're tired and nauseous all the time. But you learn to push on . . . There are 12 million cancer survivors. I am profoundly thankful to be one of them."
http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/13433887/cancer-survivor-herzlichs-story-inspires-the-inspirational

Abby Steer

Abby was just three days old when doctors told her parents she had a rare, inoperable tumor. She was on hospice care by the age of three weeks. But her father, Michael Steer, was convinced there must be a treatment out there for her disease; after reaching out to doctors across the country, he got a call back from St. Jude, where Abby was treated via an operation and 12 rounds of chemo. Today she's been cancer-free for two years. "I see her getting married, I see her having a family," Michael says. "What we can instill in parents . . . I think that's to slow down and enjoy each step."
http://www.kspr.com/news/local/94746954.html

Garland Harwood

After facing cancer in 2005, Harwood, who had to take taxis back and forth between his home in Brooklyn and St. Vincent's hospital for treatment, was inspired to raise money to help cancer patients struggling with the incidental expenses arising from the disease. That's how "Comedy for Cancer," now in its second year, was born. Five comics take the stage for a show that benefits the American Cancer Society in Brooklyn, which spends the proceeds on rides to treatment, local screenings in low-income neighborhoods and free mammograms for the uninsured. "I wanted to do something that was really affordable. It was exciting and appealing to young people and it wasn't a place where someone was lighting a candle or doing something really heavy like that, but something really light-hearted," says Harwood.
http://statenisland.ny1.com/content/features/119104/nyer-of-the-week--cancer-survivor-lets-comics-stand-up-to-benefit-afflicted

Olivia Winkelhausen
In a comment on last week's entry, Winkelhausen shared her story: "My mom was in her 40s when she got breast cancer for the second time. She went through a lot and my brother and I were only 9 or 10 years of age. She was doing amazing for awhile, but then she got major headaches and couldn't do much. She finally when to the hospital and they told her she was dying and had a brain tumor that they couldn't get. I was the first child out of my 3 other siblings to find out our mom was dying. I was devastated. We brought her home where she died at 4:30 in the morning. My brother was in the room when she took her last breath and to tell you the truth he has never been the same since. It's been almost 3 years since she died and we still have a hard time, but family and friends helping us along the way is the only reason we have come so far."

As always, we welcome you to share your stories in the comments below.